After The Storm
by Mak0t0Naegi
Summary: The story of the victims of the first game didn't end with their deaths. To escape a nightmarish realm the cast has to face what happened in the school and fight off enemies that are trying to kill them...again. Rated T for death.
1. Part One: Maizono

**Authors note: Alright the first story of mine that actually has chapters! I already have the second chapter and half of the third chapter written. I'm going to wait to post them for a little while (a couple days at most). Trigger warning for death. Also: I'm not trying to confirm or deny any belief of the afterlife in this story. Everyone is entitled to have their own beliefs. This afterlife/nightmare realm thing in the story is just something I made up so please know that I don't mean to offend anyone. Thanks and enjoy!**

**PART ONE: MAIZONO**

Maizono eyes flew open. A scream burst from her mouth and echoed across the giant room. She looked down at the stage she was standing on.

_W-what am I doing here? I don't remember what happened...I was in the school and...and Naegi was there! Yeah, that's right...then why do I feel so afraid?_

The silence was starting to add to maizono's fear. The stage was bare, with three large steps in the middle that raised up a small platform for solos. Large rows of seats filled the giant auditorium and large marble columns held up the ceiling. The only exit was a large white door at the very back of the room, past all of the chairs.

Maizono bit her lip, deciding whether she wanted to go to the door. A crashing sound to the right of her forced another scream out. She noticed the hidden opening to what could only be backstage. Slowly, she walked towards it.

Sticking her head through the opening, maizono didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Extra microphones and instruments sat undisturbed by the vanities. Another door, the bathroom maybe, was slightly ajar.

Maizono took a deep breathe, then kicked the door open. Whatever made that sound must be in here!

No. It was something worse.

Covering her mouth, Maizono stumbled backwards. Sinking to the ground, she couldn't take her eyes off of it. Off of her.

Maizono's body sat in the bathroom, her head turned slightly to the side. Blood came from the stab wound in her chest. Obviously made by the knife that was also in her chest. What was worse was the 11037 written in her own blood that adorned the wall next to her.

"What the hell? Where the fuck am I?!" The angry yells of someone familiar barely reached Maizono. She stood up and shakily moved back to the front of the stage. By the time she came into Leon's line of sight, Maizono was in hysterics.

"K-kuwata-san! It's in the...it's in the..." She vaguely gestured towards the bathroom. Leon immediately ran to her, awkwardly holding her while feebly trying to calm Maizono.

"Uh...it's ok! Don't worry I'll help with whatever's back there! It's not gonna kill you! Whatever it is.." At this, Maizono started making some sort of wheezing sound, a mixture of a scream and her trying to inhale.

"I'm going to go back there and take care of it, ok? You stay here, don't go anywhere!" Leon clumsily ran into the backstage area. Maizono closed her eyes but she could still see it.

_What the hell was that? It was...it was my dead body. But I'm alive now, right? It looked too real to be some kind of mannequin ..._

Leon came back, his expression as relaxed as it had been before. His hands shoved into his pants pockets, he looked at Maizono differently than he had just minutes before. He was more reserved, more...wary.

"Um...Maizono? Are you feeling ok? I mean, you didn't hit your head or anything?" Maizono blinked through her tears and stared at Leon.

"D-did you not see it? Did you not see the...the body?!" She started yelling. Unexplainable anger rushed through her. There was something he did, something she couldn't remember...

"Calm down! No, I didn't see it. There's nothing there. I mean, I would've seen a body if there was one." Pissed off and scared, Maizono ran past Leon, through the backstage and into the bathroom. And immediately ran back out.

"It's right there! Don't you see it? Go look in the bathroom!" Leon, who had followed her, walked into the bathroom. He stuck his head out, shrugging his shoulders.

"Nothing's there. I just see a regular bathroom-why is there a shower at a baseball stadium anyway?" Leon scratched his head, clearly not disturbed by the invisible dead body and Maizono's nervous breakdown.

_Baseball? Where the hell does he think he is? _

"Leon...we're on a stage. There's nothing even close to baseball here! And it's in there. Right in front of your face! Are you blind or something?" Maizono was sick of this weird game Leon must be playing. She had to get out of here. Now. "Forget it. I'm leaving." She calmly walked to the steps leading down from the stage. Maizono began the long trek to the end of the room.

_I was so stupid! Why didn't I just try the door? None of this would have happened..._

"Wait! Come back here! You can't just leave me. I-I mean we should stick together, right? Isn't that what they do in movies?" No matter how much he tried, Leon couldn't mask the fear in his voice. Maizono snorted. He wasn't so tough after all.

Maizono could hear him running after her. She spun around to tell him to leave her alone, but froze when she saw what was behind him. The body. Blood soaked with completely black eyes it ran at Leon with the knife held in front of it. Leon stopped running when he saw her turn around.

"Wha-" He cut off mid sentence. His eyes slowly trailed down until he was staring at his chest. Which the knife was sticking out of. Blood trailed down his lips and he mumbled something that resembled "Oh shit," before he collapsed. Leaving Maizono in a staredown with her corpse.


	2. Part Two: Chihiro

**Authors note: This one's pretty short but I'm almost done with the third chapter (which features the victims/culprits of the third trial). Thanks for all of the nice reviews on all of my stories and enjoy!**

**PART TWO: CHIHIRO**

Chihiro lay on a bed of flowers. His skirt was fanned out and his hair bore a crown of daisies. It was so peaceful...

"Are you comfortable, master?" Chihiro looked up to see Alter Ego standing above him. The only difference between them was Ego's bright, neon green eyes. Chihiro nodded. He smiled and closed his eyes. He just wanted to sleep...forever...

"Yo, kid! What're you doing?" Chihiro jumped at the sound of Mondo's voice. He didn't expect anyone else to be there, especially in this world. He stood up and brushed the flowers from his hair. It was a little too late, but he still didn't want Mondo to think he was weak. Weaker than he already was, actually.

"What are you doing here? I didn't program you in Mondo-kun!" They stood ten feet away from each other, guarded in a meadow by thick trees. No one could hurt Chihiro here. No one was "weak" or "strong".

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about kid, but come on! Can't you hear their bikes coming?" Alter Ego put his hand on Chihiro's shoulder and shook his head. A faint buzzing sound started to grow increasingly loud. Something was wrong. Chihiro looked at Ego just to see a bit of red in his eyes blink back to green.

"Stay here, master! You're safe. There's no one else here. No one to hurt you, no one to judge you. Come lay back down, have a nice nap! You've been through too much." Blood trickled down Ego's forehead.

"Kid! Now!" Mondo rushed forward, grabbing Chihiro by the wrist and pulling him away from Ego. Immediately, Chihiro was sucked into a city landscape, standing with Mondo in a back alley somewhere, illuminated only by the light of the moon. "Come on. Something is fucked up here and I'm not going to wait around for that asshole to come back. I promised Ishimaru I would protect you so you're not leaving my side."

He didn't argue. Chihiro just went along with Mondo, never letting go of his hand. They ran through a maze of alleys that almost seemed to repeat. All the while the buzzing sound grew louder. Chihiro's head started to feel foggy.

"What the fuck?! We've passed this fucking trash can twenty fucking times now! This is bullshit! Oh, there's a light over there! Stay behind me kid." Shadows moved behind them. If he looked close enough, Chihiro could see a robotic glow.

"Mondo-kun? There's something behind us..."

** E.**

Chihiro couldn't breathe. It felt like something was wrapped around his neck. He stumbled and fell to the ground, feebly grabbing Mondo's coat.

"Kid! Kid, what the fuck? What's wrong?" Mondo turned to help Chihiro, but the moment his coat was ripped from Chihiro's hands, everything disappeared.

Chihiro's face was buried in the grass. He scratched at his throat, trying to pull off whatever was strangling him. A dim blackness appeared on the edges of his vision. Footsteps approached him but Chihiro didn't care. Holding back tears, he dropped his hands. He was too weak to fight it.

Chihiro was lifted into the air. Blinking rapidly, he could see dozens of Alter Ego's crowded around him. Their eyes were red and blood trickled down their foreheads, just like before. One of them closes Chihiro eyes. He could hear Mondo calling his name in the distance. Or maybe he was close? Chihiro didn't know.

_I don't want to die...not again...all I wanted was...to be strong...and see...my...friends again..._


	3. Part Three: Ishimaru

**Authors note: This took longer than I expected. I don't really have any excuses so just...sorry. Thanks for all of the really nice reviews and story ideas! Enjoy**

**PART THREE: ISHIMARU**

Ishimaru sat in a desk, his posture as perfect as ever. He didn't question the circle of mirrors that surrounded him. The only thing he could see was himself. An invisible clock ticked in the background. The floor was a dark red, slightly resembling blood...

Something hit the mirror directly in front of him. It trembled but did not fall.

"You cannot destroy the rules. You cannot break order." A monotone voice drawled out the words. Ishimaru kept sitting still, staring straight into the mirror in front of him.

"Aren't you bored, kyoudai? Try looking at a different one for a change. What's the worst that could happen?" Mondo's voice was soft and distant, as if he was distracted.

"Rules are not meant to be broken. Change is bad." The other voice was back. Ishimaru slowly moved his eyes to the right towards another mirror...

SMACK! He jumped a little. Someone stood before him holding the ruler that just barely missed Ishimaru's hands. Ishida.

"What're you doing, fucker? Don't you know that following the rules is mandatory? What the hell are you doing!? You are Super High School Level Hall Monitor, aren't ya? Follow the goddamn rules!" Ishida leaned in close and Ishimaru could smell what could only be Mondo's trademark Old Spice. "Unless you're looking for a little adventure, huh?" Ishida wiggled his eyebrows.

Ishimaru looked anywhere but Ishida. If he looked too long at him he would be tempted to break the rules again.

"Don't you want to save them? If you get out you could try to redo...you could see them again. I want to see them again too you know..."

This got his attention. Ishimaru could hear their voices, see their smiles as they opened their arms and welcomed him to a world that expected nothing from him. Something in his subconscious shook it's head, warning him that this wouldn't work. He was better off here. If he went forward he would remember and then where would that get him? Remember what, though?

"Well I'm off. See you later? I hope. We'll be waiting." Ishida was there one second and gone the next. Ishimaru didn't think much of it, this world hadn't been normal from the start. He stood up and picked up his chair. Taking a deep breath he realized he couldn't go back if he did this. ...Back to what? He was nowhere.

Ishimaru smashed his chair into a mirror. Then another. And another. He screamed as he glass flew all around him. He yelled at his parents for their high standards, blaming them for what he had become. He yelled at everyone who had bullied him as a kid, everyone who gave him his life mission of peace. He yelled at Mondo for messing everything up when he kil-

A shard of glass sliced the side of Ishimaru's forehead. He stood there for what seemed like years, feeling the blood slowly drip down the side of his face. Taking deeps breaths Ishimaru tried to remember what had flashed through his mind just a few minutes ago. Realizing that it was hopeless, the memory was gone, he slowly put the chair down and felt the cut. It wasn't too deep but the bleeding wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Quickly using his emergency bandage that he always carried in case of something like this, he wrapped it.

The mirror were all broken, glass littering the floor. The frames still stood but no matter how hard he tried to push them over they wouldn't fall. After a quick investigation Ishimaru realized he was at the end of a hall. In front of him the hall turned to the right and behind him a set of unopenable doors waited. Seeing how he had only one choice Ishimaru cautiously made his way down the hallway.

White walls and dim lighting complimented the windowless steel doors. They were every couple of steps, each one that Ishimaru tried didn't open. He sighed and moved on. After the hallway's turn there was another door. But this one was different.

It was made out of some sort of black wood with an intricate vine pattern on the sides. A large brass knocker was attached, making it seem even more out of place. Ishimaru slowly approached it. He could hear movement behind it. The sharp tap of heels was easy to make out. Ishimaru could think of only one person who could be behind the door. He knelt down to search for a keyhole when something started moving in the corner of his eye. It took him only a second to realize someone was advancing on him. They lifted something above their head and started to bring it down, towards Ishimaru's head.

Wasting no time he threw open the door and half rolled, half dived into the room. Ishimaru slammed the door behind him and only then saw what lay before him. He was in some sort of demonic theater lobby. It was built like a regular lobby but the colors were all off. Everything was either black, blood red or a faded grey. Large, double stairs curved inward and rested beside the lone ticket stand. Posters displaying pictures of...people hung on the halls. Upon further inspection, Ishimaru realized that they were pictures of his classmates. The pictures were large headshots of each student. Red Xs covered some of them.

The four dead students from the school had Xs. So did Ishimaru's, Yamada's and Celestia's. Ishimaru realized that instead of Junko Enoshima, there was a picture of a girl with short black hair that had an X. He couldn't find a picture of Junko. A shiver ran down Ishimaru's spine. It was clear what the Xs stood for. Did that mean he was...dead?

"Final call for the show. Care to join us, sir?" Ishimaru jumped. There was no one in the room when he had entered. After a few heart pounding moments, he saw a figure standing in the ticket booth. He walked towards them. The figure wore a striped black and red vest and long black pants. A flat straw hat covered their face. Ishimaru could barely see the ends of their short black hair, not unlike the mystery girl in the picture.

"Yes! I would like to purchase a ticket...but it seems I do not have anything to pay you with! This is unacceptable behavior and I apologize! I will leave immideatly to stop wasting your time!" Ishimaru was furious with himself. He was SHSL Hall Monitor but he was unable to remember to always carry an emergency fund? Disgraceful!

"No, there's no need. Here, take this," they slid a ticket through the slot, "Everyone should get a chance to see the show. They say it's to die for." The person behind the counter chuckled lightly. Ishimaru barely caught a glimpse of their black nails. Some sort of ring shined from their right hand. He examined his ticket and saw that his name was already printed onto it.

"Celestia is that yo-" He looked up but they were gone. Ishimaru looked around once again and swiftly made his way up the stairs. Something was wrong and he didn't want to spend any more time here than he needed to.

After walking through a door decorated with tiny skulls, he found himself in another hall. But this time large mirrors covered every inch of it. Ishimaru could hear something moving not too far away from him.

_More mirrors? Where am I? And what is that...thing? Calm down, Kiyotaka. Take on step at a time and keep moving. Kyoudai is waiting for you._

The hall twisted and turned with abrupt dead ends and hidden pathways. Ishimaru walked nonstop for an hour before leaning against a mirror to try to figure out where he was. Through out his journey the shuffling noise became louder and softer at random, as if the thing wasn't in the hallway but inside the walls.

It had grown alarmingly warmer the longer he traveled. His head hadn't stopped bleeding and Ishimaru was feeling slightly dizzy. A mix of sweat and blood stained his collar. Ishimaru closed his eyes for just a second, to try to escape from this mirrored hell-

The movements became louder. The thing was sprinting now and approaching him at a horrifying pace. Ishimaru pulled himself up and started running. No matter how sharp he made his turns or what paths he followed the noise didn't fade. Something was coming for him and it wasn't friendly. Ishimaru readied himself for some sort of attack. He didn't have any weapons and even though he was in good shape his fatiuge was getting the best of him.

_I will not give up! I have to fight for kyoudai!_

"Don't you wonder what you are?" Ishida had appeared in front of Ishimaru, floating a couple feet off the ground but still keeping pace. "I mean, you saw that picture, yea? Don't you wonder if you're, ya know, dead?"

"What would that make you? A dead alter ego?" Ishimaru puffed out. Ishida glared at him for a moment before looking behind them.

"He's catching up, you know..." Ishimaru glanced behind him but didn't see anyone behind them. "No, not there. Look in the mirrors."

And there he was. Hifumi Yamada charged at them holding a gigantic hammer above his head. Ishimaru held back a scream. Yamada wasn't there. Not really. He was only in the line of mirrors covering the walls. But Ishimaru could hear him. He could even see the man's shadow on the floor.

_What kind of hell is this?_

"Welcome, one and all! To Celestia Ludenberg's hall of mirrors! I hope you enjoy your visit. Oh, and don't get caught up on the...other visitors. They've already lost their way. Hope is a nasty thing, isn't it? They still think they can leave. And they'll try every little trick they have up their sleeve to take your ticket out of here. No matter how many times they have to kill you." Celestia's voice boomed through the room, projected by some invisible speaker.

"Ah, hell yeah! This'll be fun!" Ishimaru didn't share Ishida's excitement. His head was too foggy to concentrate on anything besides running. His chest ached and he couldn't feel his legs. The hallway had stopped turning and was now was an infinate line forwards. There was nothing ahead of them and there was no going back.

_What's the point? Why should I keep running? I'm already dead. Why not just stop? I'm so tired...kyoudai is dead too...how do I know I'll see him again?_

Ishimaru's steps grew slower and slower. Ishida yelled for him to keep running, "Don't lose hope you asshole! Keep fighting just like the man you are! Don't let Mondo down, he's waiting for you!"

Ishimaru dropped to his knees.

_I can't do it...I can't fix the world...no one obeys the rules anyway..._

Tears rolled down his face as he prepared for the end. Ishimaru was curious to see what would happen to him, seeing as he was already dead. Yamda's footsteps drew closer as Ishida's yells grew more frantic. Finally, muttering something under his breath, Ishida ran towards the charging man. He pulled a sword from what seemed to be thin air and began fighting him.

Ishimaru sat motionless, listening to the battle. He could see black outlines slowly creeping up to him. Not aggressively like Yamada, but as if they were waiting. Waiting for the battle to end and for them to be able to scavage any remains that were left. Ishimaru was going to die and he knew it. He wasn't going to escape this hell.

"Kyoudai what the fuck are you doing just sitting there? Come on we have to go get the kid. Can't leave him alone for too long, y'know?" It was Mondo. In the flesh. He stood in front of Ishimaru, his hands casually in his pockets. Ishimaru didn't notice that the sounds of the fight died down. He didn't notice the outlines shrinking away from something. Only a few moments before he attacked did he notice Yamada. But it was too late.

The hammer cracked down on Mondo's head. He crumpled to the ground instantly. It was in this moment that Ishimaru became motivated. He let out an inhuman roar and lunged for Yamada. Dodging the hammer, Ishimaru wrapped his hands around his attacker's neck and squeezed. He kneed him and kept screaming. Fear flashed on Yamada's face for a moment, before he corrected himself back to the deadpan that he had worn during his chase.

It took a few minutes before Yamada stopped breathing. He didn't fight Ishimaru and he didn't make a noise. He just stood there and let the screaming boy kill him. Ishimaru let the body drop and rushed to Mondo. He lay on the ground, his breathing shallow.

"Kyoudai! I-I was unable to fight him. I'm s-sorry! Stand up and I'll help you walk. We can go get Chihiro and then find you a docter. Come on, stand up! Don't just sit there!" Ishimaru started sobbing as he tried to pull Mondo to his feet. Mondo put a hand on Ishimaru's and shook his head.

"Ah, you're such a nerd," he broke into a coughing fit before continuing, "Sorry Ishimaru but no dice. You can go find the real one now. Don't forget all the life lessons I gave you, asshole. Hurry up. They won't wait for much longer." Mondo's features faded away, revealing Ishida. He smiled before his eyes got wide. "Run you motherfucker!"

He pushed Ishimaru away from him and motioned towards the end of the hall. Another door had appeared, this time it was covered in blood. Ishimaru hesitated for a moment before sprinting towards it. The outlines converged onto Ishida. Ishimaru slammed the door shut before he could see what they did to him.

"That took you long enough. Come, you must be tired. I suppose I shall be hospitable and let you rest here while we wait for the others." Celestia Ludenberg sat atop a throne in the center of the room. A spotlight shined on her, covering her surrondings with shadow. Another smaller chair sat across from her. Ishimaru sat down and tried to stop himself from shaking. Celestia smiled and handed him a cup of tea. And then she talked. About everything. Her past, Ishimaru's past, the events leading up to their imprisonment in the school and what was going to happen to the remaining children in the school. Ishimaru didn't say a word. He broke one of his rules and didn't listen. He was too fixated on finding Mondo.


End file.
